


No Stranger to Loneliness

by SentientSilvyn



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, I'm not good at tags I'm sorry, Implied Sexual Content, Late Night Writing, M/M, Tooth Rotting Fluff, Writing late at night, writing prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 14:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14334444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentientSilvyn/pseuds/SentientSilvyn
Summary: York had been acting strange recently.Stranger than usual, anyway. He worked for a company under the CIA, meaning most of his job was to act strange and keep everything a secret. Top-secret files and all that. But this was different.To be fair, North wasn’t home often either. He did his best, but being a school teacher had it’s strict hours, especially one who ran an after-school club for the martial arts kids.





	No Stranger to Loneliness

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm bad at dialogue, and I'm also writing this at 11 pm. If anyone has any pointers, I'd welcome the help! I love writing and the kudos on my other works have been a huge confidence boost, which actually pushed me to finally putting this on paper  
> <3 you guys!

York had been acting strange recently.

Stranger than usual, anyway. He worked for a company under the CIA, meaning most of his job was to act strange and keep everything a secret. Top-secret files and all that. But this was different.

To be fair, North wasn’t home often either. He did his best, but being a school teacher had it’s strict hours, especially one who ran an after-school club for the martial arts kids. 

The two did their best to see each other when the could - living together had its benefits. North would always leaving a steaming plate of fresh breakfast in the microwave for whenever York woke up, and in return would often find either a happy note or a little gift on his bedside table the next morning. 

On weekends, while North was home and York was out doing.. Whatever he does, North would spend time cleaning the house or running much needed errands. Both men were off on Sundays, but often York was too tired to actually want to do anything. 

One night, North got home around the usual time to find the lights already on in the house. Which, while unusual, had happened before. North sometimes forgot to turn the lights off in his rush to leave the house on time. So, thinking nothing of it, he dropped his bag by the door like he usually does and saunters into the kitchen. 

The recently cleaned dishes stop him in his tracks, however. Still dripping with water, 2 plates and a cup are sitting by the sink. Either there was a really practical robber in the house, or someone was home who hadn’t told North that he had the day off. He could check that out later though. His stomach was growling, loud enough it couldn’t be ignored anymore. 

Peering into the fridge yielded little results. Cold pizza, leftovers from last night’s lasagna, a few weird creations from middle-of-the-night-York’s-cooking. He popped the pizza in the microwave, taking out a few papers to finish grading before the timer went off. 

A door closed upstairs, around the same time the microwave beeps announcing North’s food. North shook his head, telling himself he was just too tired and sat down on the couch to eat. A sporting game was playing on the television, a baseball game that York would have loved to have seen. He’d have to tell York the final score later. 

Once done with his meager dinner, he rinses his few dishes off and leaves them near the few already on the counter. His papers still on the kitchen counter, he rounds them up and shoves them in the bag he had left on the floor.

Sleep sounded amazing at this point. North would have to be up early , as tomorrow was Friday. Teachers had their end of the week meetings. 

When North reached their shared bedroom, he heard a faint clicking sound from inside. Typing, he realize das he listened further. Well, at least no one had broken into the house, though it was a surprise York had left his room at all today. Usually if the man was home, he was sleeping or on his computer.  

Today, apparently, was a computer day. The occasional typing wasn’t unusual, but the small hitches in his breath were. North opened the door slowly, hearing the slam of a laptop shut as he took in the view of the room. “Working on something, love?”

“Nothing that can’t be interrupted.” York sounded cheeky, but almost flustered. North chose to ignore it, instead setting his bags in their proper place before kicking his shoes off into the closet.

“Mm, well that’s good. I was afraid I’d get abandoned for your work again.” North stalked over to the bed, where York was already sitting up.

“Not this time.” North sat down, watching York as he crawled across the bed to the taller man. York straddled his hips, leaning down to kiss him before yanking his shirt over his head. North did the same with York’s shirt, both flying across the room and landing somewhere near the basket.  

The two soon lost themselves in each other, enjoying one of the few nights they got together.

\----------

The next morning, North had to drag himself out of bed as his alarm rang out into the morning. He stretched into the morning, sore in all the right places and with a few bruises on his chest. None that would be too hard to hide, thankfully. His lover had been merciful last night. 

Pulling on his work uniform, thank god for casual Fridays, he packed his stuff in his bags. Having to leave early left him little time for breakfast, so he usually ate on the way to work.

His day at work was fairly normal. No kids managed to get in trouble, thankfully, and, as no one stayed after on Fridays, he was able to return home. Still, he was returning home to an empty house, as was the usual. York had apparently done some baking before he headed out for his workday, as there were beautifully frosted cupcakes on the counter. 

North was a little surprised, as the kitchen was mostly a mess when York cooked or baked, but everything was spotless. Still, he couldn’t turn down cupcakes. Only crazy people turned down free cupcakes. Grabbing one, he headed up to the small office space in their apartment, spreading out papers and organizing them by classes as he made his way through the cupcake. 

He was behind in his grading, and by the time he had the papers in some semblance of organization, it was almost dark outside. He should be eating right now. Despite his better judgement, he picked up a pen and worked his way through the first stack. 

He must have been at it for a while, because what seemed like moments later, he heard the front door swing open. The crashing that followed a moment later as York tossed his bag god-knows-where announced the arrival of North’s delightful lover. 

However, York didn’t come up to the study. North heard the bedroom door shut, and no other sounds. Not even the shower running. 

Resolving to take one himself in the morning, he left his work mostly scattered on the desk, stopping only to cover the cupcakes to keep them from becoming stale. By the time he made it to the bedroom, all the nights falling asleep alone seemed worth it, just for this picture.

York was starfished on the bed, shoes still on and tie scrunched under his face. In fact, North took his phone out and snapped a quick picture before rolling York onto his back, ignoring the muttering in his sleep. York was then stripped of his shoes, tie, jacket, shirt, and pants, leaving him in an undershirt and underwear. North pulled on a pair of fuzzy pyjama pants, tossing his shirt in a corner and curling up in the bed.

Almost instantly, York latched onto him like an octopus, legs tangling together. North brushed the hair out of his face, kissing his forehead before falling asleep, knowing he would most likely wake up alone.

\----------

North pushed himself up to an empty bed, as predicted, but there was noise in the kitchen. York was still home, but looking at the clock, he should be leaving soon. 

Not wanting to miss a moment, North pushed himself up and plodded to the kitchen, getting the sight of York in front of a frying pan full of eggs. 

“Morning, sunshine.” York wasn’t looking at him as he spoke, but he was smiling. Just focused on not burning eggs. North came up behind him, grabbing his waist to pull him flush against North in a hug. 

Hooking his chin over York’s shoulder, his mouth starts watering as he says, “Are those for me?” 

“What, no good morning for me? Maybe I’ll just eat all of them.” He wiggles out of North’s grip, hip checking him as he stirs the eggs a final time. North pulls out two plates as York takes the pan off the burner.

With eggs plated, and 20 minutes until York needs to leave, the two sit down on the couch together. The conversation varies, but two topics never come up: York’s work, and North’s sleep schedule. Both are touchy subjects for the men, but they’ve worked around it for this long. 

When York heads out to work, North begins his personal errands for the day. A trip to the grocery store, a small stop at a clothing store to replace a work shirt, followed by coming home to clean the kitchen and bathroom. 

The study still looms with children’s homework needed graded. With a groan, North forced himself to sit down and rifle through the papers. Being an English teacher has its downfalls, the main one being the sheer amount of papers needed edited. Coupled with the fact that half these kids can’t write to being with, it makes these days of editing that much more fun.

He stopped for lunch, eating quickly and returning to the study. 

He soon lost track of time, flipping between papers and marking when necessary. York’s day off was tomorrow, and even though he would probably be sleeping all day, North wasn’t going to miss out on the possible time. Once he finished the final paper, he leaned back in the chair for a second before all but rolling out of it, heading for the bedroom. He sheds his clothes once he hit the doorway, collapsing on the bed. 

North spares a moment to hope York makes it home safe, before falling asleep rather quickly.

\----------

When North woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed is the still empty bed. The sheets are rumpled, as if York was there at one point, but there was a distinct lack of one-eyed, slightly annoying brunette presence. 

Scrunching up his face, he rolled out of bed. York’s bag was on the floor, and his shoes and clothes were spread across the room. 

The first thing North noticed was the rose petals lining the hallway. Vanilla candles were burning somewhere, probably a lot based on how strong the smell was. He checked down the hallway, noticing the door to the study was still closed and the kitchen light was off. Leaving just one place for the culprit to be.

Still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and trying not to slip on rose petals, North slowly made his was to the living room/dining room combo. The candles, and there were a lot of them, were on the table. York was spread out on the couch, lounging, obviously waiting for him. 

When North’s eyes landed on York, he sprang up from the couch, embracing North almost roughly. 

“Wha.. what are you doing, York? Did you even sleep last night.” York just shrugged, pulling North closer. By the time he pulls away, North is more confused than ever, and looking down on a York that has fallen to one knee. 

“Look, I know I’m not home often, and I can’t talk about shit when I am, but you make me happier than anything. Being able to come home to you has kept me sane in the last few years, and I can’t do enough to thank you for that, but if you’ll have me, I’d love to spend my entire life in your arms.” North had placed a hand over his mouth halfway through the speech. By the end, York wasn’t actually on his knee anymore. North had swept him up, pulling him off of his feet due to the height difference. 

“Yes, a thousand times yes, you huge idiot.” As Yorks legs wrapped around his middle, North tilted his head back and kissed him, long and slow, expressing things words cannot convey. 

Once York’s feet finally hit the floor again, the ring was slipped on North’s finger. The two spent the day wrapped in each other, moving from the living room to the bedroom with few thoughts on their minds.

**Author's Note:**

> I am still working on my OC fic, I've just needed a brain break from almost everything. I promise I'll be updating it soon!


End file.
